Mineral Point tribune. (Mineral Point, Wis.) 1869-1938, 1887-11-17
THE CRIME AND THE CRIMINALS


I Brief Review of the Haymarket Tragedy
Biographies of the NOTORIOUS Seven
All are familiar with the agitations
leading up TO the Haymarket massacre
and reiteration of the facts are not
necessary. May 4, 1886, was a day of in-
tense excitement and in the evening q
crowd of about 1900 gathered at the
Haymarket. About 8 O'Clock Spies,
Parsons, Fielden and other leaders APP
peared, mounted wagon standing in
Desplaines street, where the approach of
the police could be seen, and ad-
dressed the crowd in the order
named, the remarks of the latter being
bitter and inhamatory in the exreme.
At this point Capt. Bonfeld ordered out
seven companies of police, about 175
men, ana ordered the mob to quietly dis
psrse. Then came the memorable bomb
explosion killing lone officer, Matthias
j. began outright, MORALLY wounding
six others who died after few days of
suffering, and so seriously injuring six
others that they were disabled for weeks
and months.sAn anarchist was also killed
outright. The police rallied and charged
the mob with revolvers and clubs and it
is estimated that about a score of the
socialists were killed and 80 wounded.
On May 9Th, the AIbeiterZeitrng Office
was raided and August Spies, editor-in-
ohisf and manager of the paper;
Michael Schwab, associate editor;
Charles Spies, brother of August,
Mrs. Elizabeth Mary Holmes associate,
editor; eighteen printers, two reporters
ard two messengers were arrested.
Among the printers was Adolph Fischer,
who was heavily armed. All except Spies,
Schwab and Fischer were subsequently
released. After the inquest the other
prisoners were held without bail. Rudolph
Schnaubelt was arrested also but was re-
leased. IT afterward appeared that he
was the man who threw the bomb. He
was again looked for but had fed to Eu-
rope and has never been found. On May
9th the grand jury returned indictments
against Spies, Fielden, Schnaubelt,
Fischer, Lingg, Lngel, Schwab, Neebe,
AntoR Herschburger and John APPEL.
The last Two were not tried
as the evindence was not strong
enough to convict. Neebe who took
charge of the Arbeiter Zeitung after
Spies arrest was at once arrested. The
anarchists were tried before Judge Gary,
the case lasting from June 81, to August
20, inclusive. The time until July 10, was
expended in securing jury, 1921 tales
men, in all, being examined.
Counsel who appeared ia the case
was: For the state-State's Attorney
Julius 5. Grinnell, Frank Walker, and
Edmund Furthmann, his assistants, and
George @. Ingham. For defendants
Capt. w. p. Black, Moses Solomon, Sig
mund Zeisler, and W. A. Foster.
The arguments in the trial lasted from
Aug. IL to 10. The jury, which was out
from $3.50 p. IN. ASg 10 to 10 o'clock
next morning, returned a verdict of
guilty against all of the defendants, FIX
ing the death penalty for all except
Neebe, who was given fifteen years in the
penitentiary.
! The motion for new trial came up
| before Judge Gary Oct. and was erutd
for six days. Judge Gary overruled the
motion. Three days were spent in hear
ing the speeches of the condemned.
Judge Gary then sentenced the
prisoners, fixing Dec. as the
day of execution. supefsedeas was
granted bv Justice Scott of the supreme
court Oh November 81. On March II and
IL, 1851, the case was brought before the
Illinois supreme court at Ottawa on a
writ of error and arguments heard on a
motion for a reversal of the verdict OF
the court below. The supreme court
however, sustained the judgment of the
criminal court of Cook county, in a
lengthy opinion rendered September IA
And so the prisoners were sentenced &c
be hanged on the 18th of November. All
appeal was thon made to the supreme
court of the United States, the chief al
legation being that the accused had mo-
been tried by an impartial jury" as re
quired by the national constitution. Th'
supreme court rendered its decision OF
November %, affording no relief to th'
doomed men.